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Late shot lifts Texas A&M over St. John's

Nov 19, 2011 - 1:48 AM New York, NY (Sports Network) - Elston Turner's jumper with eight seconds left proved to be the game-winner, as the 19th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies defeated the St. John's Red Storm, 58-57, in the third-place game of the 2K Sports Classic.

After a St. John's timeout, Nurideen Lindsey received an inbounds pass at midcourt and drove to the basket before being fouled by Ray Turner with 2.3 left.

But he missed both foul shots and Elston Turner secured the rebound, along with the win, for Texas A&M.

Ray Turner scored 16 points and pulled down seven boards for the Aggies (3-1), who were just 2-of-3 from the foul line. On the other hand, St. John's took 38 free throws, but made just 22 of those attempts.

D'Angelo Harrison and Lindsey chipped in 12 points each for St. John's (3-2), which shot just 35 percent from the field.

"They did an admirable job. Our players did an admirable job of fighting back, kind of scratching and clawing, to get back and even, you know, have a lead and have a chance with one stop to get a win. But you have to credit Texas A&M, you know, they hit a big shot and executed well on the road and overcame a free throw disparity," St. John's head coach Steve Lavin said.

Lindsey converted a pair from the line to give St. John's its first lead of the game, 55-54, with 4:23 remaining in regulation.

Moe Harkless connected on 1-of-2 from the line with 21.6 left, which preceded Elston Turner's game-winner.

After a lackluster effort against Mississippi State in the semifinals, the Aggies jumped off to a quick 13-5 start against St. Johns.

St. John's fought back and outscored the Aggies 18-10 in the final seven-plus minutes to cut the margin to 32-30 at the break.

Harrison made a three-pointer from the left corner, which snapped an 8 1/2 minute field goal drought for the Red Storm, and Sir'Dominic Pointer made a layup to cut the margin to 50-49 with 6:21 left.

Game Notes

Elston Turner had eight points...It was the first-ever meeting between the schools...The Aggies made three treys in the opening five minutes, but connected just once from beyond the arc the rest of the way.